Court serves eviction notice to Baclaran mosque settlers

MANILA, Philippines - A Parañaque court has served a notice to the Muslim community living around a mosque in Baclaran to vacate the reclaimed area they are occupying.

Abdelmanan Tanandato, leader of the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Nademolis sa Roxas Boulevard, said Sheriff Jeffrey Sales of the Parañaque Regional Trial Court-Branch 274 issued the notice last Aug. 13, a few days before Ramadan started.

Sales handed over the notice to the Baclaran-Parañaque City Islamic Cultural Center, Inc. through its representatives Nasser Ramos, Jalil Moluk and Sultan Sohayle Cosain Tanandato.

The court gave the Muslim settlers three days from receiving the notice “to voluntary vacate and peacefully surrender the premises they are occupying.”

The notice, signed by Sales, warned that the court will “use force” to implement the eviction order.

The government plans to develop the reclaimed land to house commercial establishments and has previously said the mosque will be transferred to a relocation site, not destroyed.

However, affected Muslim families allege the government plans to destroy the mosque and warned that blood may spill if the government tries to evict them. – Rhodina Villanueva